Most television viewers now receive their video signals through a content aggregator such as a cable or satellite television provider. Digital video broadcasting (DVB) systems, such as satellite systems, are generally known. A DVB system that delivers video service to a home will usually include a video services receiver, system, or device, which is commonly known as a set-top box (STB). In the typical instance, encoded television signals are sent via a cable or wireless data link to the viewer's home, where the signals are ultimately decoded in the STB. The decoded signals can then be viewed on a television or other appropriate display as desired by the viewer.
A given user of an STB will typically have certain preferences or viewing habits that relate to preferred programming genres (e.g., comedies, documentaries, cartoons), topics (e.g., cars, skateboarding, food), program titles (e.g., “The Simpsons” or “Mad Men”), etc. In this regard, the user naturally tends to view programming that matches his or her personal preferences, while avoiding programming that appears to be unrelated to those preferences. Selecting certain content-focused channels is one traditional way for a user to view preferred program events. For example, a sports fan may choose to watch a sports-centric channel such as ESPN, other users may instead choose to watch a food-centric channel such as The Food Network, and other users may prefer to watch an educational channel such as The Discovery Channel or PBS.
Modern DVB systems can support hundreds of different channels that deliver different types of content. In practice, it can be difficult if not impossible for users to monitor and search for desired programming content that might be available on the different channels. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a methodology for identifying and presenting a list of preferred content to a user of a video services receiver as a notification of upcoming program events. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.